Electronic document location indication and navigation method, system and program

ABSTRACT

While a user is viewing in a first display area a portion of an electronic document intended to be printed to produce a printed product, presenting to the user in a second display area a representation of the physical outline of the printed product and an indicator that indicates to the user the size and location of the electronic document portion relative to the printed product. When the user positions a cursor in the second display area, a second indicator image, visually distinctive from the first indicator image, is displayed. The user can position the second indicator at a desired location relative to the representation and request that the portion of the electronic document at that second indicator location be displayed in the first display area.

REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of prior application Ser. No.10/402,121, filed on Mar. 28, 2003, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to electronic documents and,more particularly, to tools for assisting a user during the viewing andediting of electronic documents.

2. Description of the Related Art

Modern Web browsers, such as Internet Explorer from MicrosoftCorporation, provide support for the versatile and powerful markuplanguages and standards in use today, such as XHTML (eXtensibleHypertext Markup Language), VML (Vector Markup Language), CascadingStyle Sheets, Document Object Module, and scripting. These technologiesallow software applications to be downloaded over the World Wide Web toa user's computer and run in the user's browser.

Among the many new businesses that are taking advantage of thecapabilities of the Web are printing service providers that providedocument design and printing services for users desiring to obtainquantities of high quality, color documents of the type that the user isnot capable of producing with the printer systems typically connected tomost computer systems. These printing service providers typicallyprovide their customers with the ability to access the printing serviceprovider's web site, download product templates and a product designprogram, create a customized markup language document in the browser ofthe user's computer system, and upload the document to the printingservice provider's server for subsequent printing. Web-based printingservice providers will also typically retain documents created by usersfor a period of time in case a user desires to review or edit a documentcreated earlier.

One network-based product design system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.6,247,011 entitled “Computerized Prepress”. The patent discloses adocument-authoring tool that is downloaded from a server and runs in theclient browser. The tool allows the user to create a markup languageversion of a product intended for uploading to the server for subsequentprinting. Another system is disclosed in co-pending and co-owned U.S.application Ser. No. 09/557,571 entitled “Managing Print Jobs”, which ishereby incorporated by reference. The system discloses a downloadableediting tool that allows a customer to create and edit WYSIWYG markuplanguage documents in the customer's browser. The system makes a numberof pre-designed product templates available for customer viewing,downloading, and customizing. The customer can upload the electronicdocument to a server and place an order for production of the printedproducts.

For some types of documents being viewed and edited by a user in theuser's browser, the user can easily determine the configuration of thedocument and the area of the document currently being edited. Forexample, business cards and standard size postcards are relatively smalldocuments. Images of these documents can usually be displayed infull-size, and sometimes larger, on the user's display screen withoutcropping of the document image. This allows the user to see the entireside of the document at one time while editing or reviewing thedocument. The typical user involved in designing these types ofdocuments has no difficulty keeping track of where edits are beingperformed. This is not necessarily the case with larger formatdocuments.

For documents having larger dimensions, it is likely that the user willnot be able to edit the document while the entire document is displayedon the user's screen. If the user zooms out to be able to see the edgesof the document, the text will be reduced to a degree that makes itdifficult or impossible to read. If the user zooms in to be able tofocus on a particular area of the document, the document will becomecropped such that only a portion is visible to the user on the user'sdisplay. For larger format documents, therefore, there will be manytimes when the user will be seeing only a portion of the document beingedited. Some, or all, of the edges of the document will not be visibleto the user.

One example of this type of relatively large document is a presentationfolder intended to accommodate unfolded 8½ by 11 inch or metric A4 paperstock. The area of the folder to be printed is typically created as asingle large design. After printing, the printed design is cut, foldedand glued to create a folder having a front and back cover and twoinside pockets. Prior to the post-printing operations, the flat printeddesign will be over 20 inches wide and over 16 inches in height. Whendesigning the folder, the user will typically desire to place text,images, logos or other content on both the front and back covers of thefolder as well as on the flaps that will form the inside pockets.Because of the size of the folder and the post-printing operations thatwill be performed, some users designing such a document may havedifficulty visualizing the appearance of the folder in its finalphysical form and may become confused regarding exactly whereinformation will appear on the folder or exactly what portion of thedocument is currently being editing. This may slow down the designprocess or cause the folder designer to inadvertently place material inthe wrong location or wrong orientation, resulting in an unsatisfactoryproduct and a dissatisfied user. It would, therefore, be beneficial tothe user to have a tool to assist the user during the document editingprocess.

Instances of displaying a reduced size version of an image as a zoomingand scrolling aid to the user while the user is viewing only a sectionof the image are known in the prior art. For example, some softwareapplications for viewing maps will display both a main viewing area fordisplaying a portion of the map in greater detail and a separate,relatively small, area for viewing an overview version of the entiremap. One example of this type of system is publicly available on the Webat Concierge.com, which offers maps that are capable of zooming andscrolling. These maps are designed using Macromedia Flash fromMacromedia, Inc. A main map viewing area and a second overview map areaare provided. The area being displayed in the main viewing window isindicated in the overview area by a rectangle. The viewer of the map canchange the information in the main viewing area by using the up/down andright/left scroll buttons or by dragging the rectangle to a new locationin the overview area. The size of the rectangle increases, decreasesand/or moves as the user zooms out, zooms in, or scrolls. To be able toview the maps requires the user to have proprietary Macromedia Flashsoftware installed on the user's computer.

Another example of a reduced size image in the prior art has been usedin recent versions of the Adobe Photoshop product from Adobe Systems.The Photoshop product provides both a main viewing area and a smallerversion of the image being viewed. The portion of the image beingdisplayed in the main viewing window is indicated by a rectangledisplayed in the overview image. The size of the rectangle increases,decreases and/or moves as the user zooms out, zooms in, or scrolls. ThePhotoshop product is a proprietary application specifically designed andadapted for digital image editing.

Neither of the prior art systems referred to above is adapted to theparticular problems and challenges presented in connection withassisting a user to keep track of the user's location while the user isviewing and editing an electronic document for a large format printedproduct having a predetermined shape and size. Therefore, a need existsfor a system and method for providing a visual indication to users ofwhere in the product the user is currently performing edit operationsduring the electronic document editing of large format documents.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to satisfying the need for systems,programs and methods that provide a visual indication of the size andpositional relationship between the portion of the electronic documentbeing viewed or edited by a user and the corresponding location of thatelectronic document portion in the printed product to be produced fromthe electronic document and that provide for easy navigation from oneportion of the electronic document to another portion.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, two display areas areprovided for the user. In the first area, the user can view and edit anelectronic document that is intended for subsequent processing toproduce a printed product. In the second area, the user is presentedwith a representation of the outline of the printed product and anindicator image that indicates the size and location in the printedproduct of the portion of the electronic document that is currentlybeing displayed to the user in the first area.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, when the userpositions a cursor in the second area, a second indicator image isdisplayed in the second area at the location of the cursor. This secondindicator image can be positioned by the user in a desired location inthe second area to indicate another location in the printed product. Inresponse to a command from the user, the portion of the electronicdocument indicated by the second indicator image is displayed in thefirst area.

It is an advantage of the invention that a user who has zoomed in toview a portion of a large format document can readily determine therelative size and location of the portion of the electronic documentbeing viewed relative to the printed product.

It is another advantage of the invention that the user can readilynavigate to a different portion of the electronic document bypositioning the second indicator at the desired location relative to theoutline of the printed product and requesting a change of location.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be better understood with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system that is suitable forpracticing the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a representation of an unfolded presentation folder.

FIG. 2B is a representation of the inside of a presentation folder.

FIGS. 3A-3E are representations of document-editing screens displayed tothe user in accordance with the disclosed embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chair illustrating an exemplary process for controllinga Location Indicator in accordance with the disclosed embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for controllinga Positioning Locator in accordance with the disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary user computer system UCS 100 includesprocessor 120 and memory 130. Memory 130 represents all UCS 100components and subsystems that provide data storage, such as RAM, ROM,and hard drives. In addition to providing permanent storage for allprograms installed on UCS 100, such as the operating system and variousapplication programs, Memory 130 also provides temporary storagerequired by the operating system and the applications while they areexecuting. In a preferred embodiment, UCS 100 is a typically equippedpersonal computer, but UCS 100 could be also be a portable computer, atablet computer or other device that is capable of running browsersoftware. The user views images from UCS 100 on Display 140, such as aCRT or LCD screen, and provides inputs to UCS 100 via Input Devices 150,such as a keyboard and a mouse.

When UCS 100 is operating, an instance of the USC 100 operating systemwill be running, represented in FIG. 1 by Operating System 160. Inaddition, the user may be running one or more application programs. InFIG. 1, UCS 100 is running Web Browser 180, such as Microsoft InternetExplorer. Other applications, which may be running in USC 100, such asspreadsheet, e-mail, and presentation programs, are represented asApplications 170. Design Tool 190 is a product design program running inBrowser 180. Design Tool 190 allows the user to select an appropriateproduct template and to use the template to prepare a customizeddocument design in electronic form. In the exemplary embodiment, DesignTool 190 is downloaded to UCS 100 via Network 111 from remote Server110. Alternatively, Design Tool 190 could have been obtained by the userfrom Memory 130 or from another local source. When the customer issatisfied with the design, the design can be uploaded to Server 110 forproduction of the desired quantity of the physical product onappropriate printing and post-print processing systems.

FIG. 2A is an image of a presentation folder in a flat, unfoldedcondition. This represents the way the electronic folder template ispresented to the user during the folder design process. Folders of thistype are typically printed only on one side; therefore, there isgenerally no need to present the user with separate “front” and “back”views. The user is presented with a view of only the printable side.While the invention is discussed herein in the context of a presentationfolder being designed in the Microsoft Explorer browser environment, itwill be understood that the invention is not so limited. The term“document” is used broadly herein to refer to the electronic descriptionof a product regardless of the form, format, or content of the productor the type of material or the printing process to be used for theproduction of the product. The document being prepared could havevariable dimensions, proportions and orientation.

Dashed lines 214, 216, 218, 220 and 222 indicate where the printedproduct will be folded to produce the final folder product. Duringpost-printing processing, flaps 206 and 208 are folded along lines 220and 222. Flaps 210 and 212 are then folded over flaps 206 and 208 alonglines 214 and 216. Flaps 210 and 212 are glued in place such that theycapture and hold the outside edges of flaps 206 and 208, thereby formingthe inside pockets of the folder. Semicircular cutouts 224 and 226 inflaps 210 and 212 allow for increased pocket storage capacity. Finally,the folder is folded along line 218 to create the finished product. FIG.2B depicts the inside of the folder product after the folding of flaps206, 208, 210 and 212, but before the final step of folding along line218.

Referring to FIG. 3A, Display 300 represents a Design Tool 190 displaybeing viewed by the user of UCS 100 during the editing of the electronicdocument. “Editing” of a document is used broadly herein to encompassall aspects of the creation and modification of a document, includingall user operations or commands related to the selecting, adding,deleting, modifying, repositioning, or otherwise changing documentcontent.

In this example, Document 320 is a template for a presentation folder asshown in FIG. 2A that has been downloaded by the user of USC 100 fromremote server 110. The template is currently being edited by the user toadd the user's desired text, images or other custom content to create apersonalized final design for subsequent printing and processing into afinished folder product. The template includes the outline of theproduct and other product features to assist the user in properlyplacing the user's content. For simplicity of presentation, the exampleDocument 320 shown in FIGS. 3A-3E contains only three specimen areas ofuser-entered text: 322 on the front cover area, 324 on the back coverarea and 326 on the right inside pocket area.

The template is displayed to the user in a portion of Display 300identified as Edit Area 310. For the purpose of illustration, in FIG. 3Athe boundary of Edit Area 310 is indicated by dashed lines, however, inthe disclosed embodiment, the boundaries of rectangular Edit Area 310are not made directly visible to the user. A visible box or borderaround the perimeter of Edit Area 310 could be employed, if desired. InFIG. 3A, a WYSIWYG view of the layout of the entire folder design isdisplayed to the user in Edit Area 310. It will be appreciated that,because of the size of the folder product, only text that is rendered inrelatively large fonts sizes can be read in this type of view ofDocument 320. The user will typically need to zoom in closer to be ableto properly enter and edit text and other content, therefore the userwill often be viewing only a relatively small portion of the totaldocument in Edit Area 310 at any one time.

In the embodiment described herein, the entire printed surface of thefolder is being designed as a single electronic document. The dashedlines showing where folding will occur are displayed to the user in EditArea 310 to assist the user in properly placing the user's custom text,images or other content. The user has control over and responsible forthe entry and positioning of the user's content. Referring to FIG. 2A,panel 202 will be the front cover and panel 204 will be the back coverof the finished product. Panel 206 will become the left inside pocketand panel 208 will become the right inside pocket.

Editing functions for Document 320 are controlled by the user using ToolBar 350. Tool Bar 350 contains buttons and fields controlling font type,font size, alignment, colors, and other functions not directly relatedto the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.Techniques for the design and operation of editing tool bars are knownin the art.

As mentioned above, the printed area of the folder is designed as asingle electronic document. In order for content that is intended toappear on the inside pockets to appear correctly in the finishedproduct, the content will need to be entered in the electronic designupside down during the design process. In the described embodiment, theuser will first enter the text or other content in the normal fashion atthe desired location in document 320 and then will rotate the contentappropriately using Rotation button 356.

Also displayed to the user on Display 300 is Outline Image 332. Image332 is a representation of the physical shape, or outline, of the folderproduct after printing and cutting, but before folding. In the disclosedmarkup language embodiment, Outline Image 332 is contained in an imageobject that is sized to be as wide as the maximum width of Image 332 andas high as the maximum height of Image 332.

Location indicator 334, as will be discussed in more detail below, isalso displayed. Indicator 334 indicates to the user the portion ofDocument 320 currently being viewed in Edit Area 310. In a preferredembodiment, Indicator 334 is displayed over Image 332, but is madetransparent to allow the features of Image 332 to be viewed. Further,Indicator 334 is rendered with a distinctive color tint that allows theuser to clearly distinguish it from Image 332. Other techniques toidentify Indicator 334 to the user, such as a distinctive border, couldalso be employed. In FIG. 3A, because the entire Document 320 is visiblein Edit Area 310, Indicator 334 covers the entire outline image 332. Asa further aid to assist the user in visualizing the final product, image340, a representation of the inside of the final product, is alsodisplayed.

Because editing this type of document may be confusing to some users,descriptive legends, such as “Back Cover”, “Front Cover” and “PanelLayout of Flat Printed Side of Folder”, are displayed on and aroundImage 332 and Image 340 to assist the user to stay properly oriented. Asa reminder to the user that any content entered in the flap 206 or 208areas will need to be inverted in the Document 320 template to ensurethat the text appears in the correct orientation on the inside pocketsafter the folding operation, the legends “Right Pocket” and “LeftPocket” are displayed inverted in Image 332. To facilitate anuncluttered presentation regarding Indicator 334 and Indicator 338, thelegends shown on Image 332 in FIG. 3A are omitted from FIGS. 3B-3E.

The user can perform zooming and scrolling operations to display aspecific section of Document 320 in Edit Area 310. As the user requestsa zoom operation by clicking Zoom In button 352 or Zoom Out button 354on Tool Bar 350, the browser will perform the required processes toappropriately adjust the display in Edit Area 310. If the entiredocument will not fit within Edit Area 310, the browser software willautomatically generate and display appropriately sized vertical andhorizontal scroll bars. Support for zooming and scrolling operations isa standard feature of modern browsers.

In the example in FIG. 3B, the user has Zoomed in to view text 322 inthe front cover area of Document 320. In a preferred embodiment, zoomingoccurs in relatively small increments such that the user would haveclicked Zoom In button 352 about five times to reach the zoom leveldepicted in FIG. 3B. The browser program has generated vertical scrollbar 360 and horizontal bar 370 along the right and bottom edges of EditArea 310.

As the user zooms or scrolls in Document 320, Location Indicator 334changes correspondingly to indicate the section of Document 320currently being displayed in Edit Area 310. In the disclosed embodiment,the proper placement and sizing of Indicator 334 is accomplished byretrieving information from the browser describing the portion ofDocument 320 currently being displayed in Edit Area 310 and convertingthat information into the corresponding size and location of Indicator334 relative to Image 332.

The folder template designer determined the number of pixels in theheight and width of the full-size Document 320 during the design of thefolder template. Similarly, the template designer determined the pixelwidth and height of Image 332. The ratio of the size of Document 320 toImage 332 is the scale factor (SF). For example, if Document 320 were3200 pixels wide by 2400 pixels high and Image 334 were 200 pixels wideby 150 pixels high, SF would be 16.

To maintain Indicator 334 in the appropriate location, the position ofIndicator 334 is recalculated approximately three times per second.Referring to FIG. 4, at step 402, the browser is requested to providethe current values for offsetWidth and offsetHeight, which specify thepixel width and height of Edit Area 310; the values for the scroll Topand scroll Left properties, which specify the horizontal and verticaloffset in pixels of the content of Edit Area 310 within Document 320;and the zoom level (style.zoom), which in the disclosed embodiment isexpressed as a decimal number with 1.0 indicating a normal size displaywith no zooming, 2.0 indicating zooming at the 200% level, and so forth.Each of these properties is retrievable from the browser. These valueswill be used, in combination with the known scale factor SF and theknown Maximum Image 332 Height (MIH) and Maximum Image 322 Width (MIW),to determine the height H and width W of Indicator 334 as well as theIndicator 334 top offset T1 and left offset L1.

The values of offsetWidth and offsetHeight returned by the browser willinclude the space at the far right and bottom of Edit Area 310 that isoccupied by the vertical and horizontal scroll bars. The thickness SB ofthe scroll bars in Edit Area 310 is the same regardless of whether thescroll bar is vertical or horizontal. Therefore, SB, which equals thewidth of vertical scroll bar 360 and the height of horizontal scroll bar370, will be deducted from the values of offsetWidth and offsetHeightprior to determining the width and height of Indicator 334. The pixelvalues of offsetWidth and offsetHeight may vary by type and version ofthe browser program and by whether the browser window is displayed fullscreen or at a reduced size.

In step 404, width W of Indicator 334 is calculated by subtracting thewidth of the scroll bar from the value of offsetWidth, dividing thatresult by the zoom property, and then dividing that result by the scalefactor. Expressed as a formula, width W is calculated asW=((offsetWidth−SB)/style.zoom)/SF. Height H of Indicator 334 iscalculated in a similar fashion as H=((offsetHeight−SB)/style.zoom)/SF.

In step 406, the value of the left offset L1 of Indicator 334 iscalculated by multiplying MIW by scrollLeft and dividing the result byoffsetWidth multiplied by style.zoom plus the scroll bar width SB todetermine the equivalent pixel offsets for Indicator 334. Thiscalculation can be expressed as a formula asL1=(MIW*scrollLeft)/((offsetWidth*style.zoom)+SB). The top offset T1 isdetermined in a similarly byT1=(MIH*scrollTop)/((offsetHeight*style.zoom)+SB). Using the valuescalculated in steps 404 and 406, the size and position of Indicator 334are updated on Display 300 at step 408. As mentioned above, steps402-408 will be repetitively executed three times per second in apreferred embodiment. Other recalculation frequencies could be employed.

In addition to navigating in Document 320 by the typical means ofzooming in, zooming out, and adjusting the horizontal or vertical scrollbars, the user can also navigate in Document 320 by repositioningIndicator 334 relative to Image 332 using the mouse cursor. Using thebrowser's mouseOver function, whenever mouse cursor 336 is detected asbeing positioned over any part of the Image 332 object, PositioningIndicator 338 will be displayed and additional steps, as discussed belowin connection with FIG. 5, will be performed Two examples of interimnavigational states in the repositioning process are depicted in FIGS.3C and 3D.

Positioning Indicator 338 is rendered in a visually distinctive manner,for example by being displayed with a distinguishing border, so the usercan readily distinguish Positioning Indicator 338 from LocationIndicator 334. Indicator 338 will dynamically follow the movement ofCursor 336 within the Image 332 object and, when possible, will becentered on Cursor 336. Because Indicator 334 and Indicator 338represent a section of Document 320 to be displayed in Edit Area 310,Indicator 338 is constrained such that it cannot be positioned outsideof the boundaries of what can be displayed in Edit Area 310. When Cursor336 is relatively close to the edge of the Image 332 object, meaningcloser than one-half of the width of Indicator 338 to one of the sidesof the object or closer than one-half of the height of Indicator 338from the top or bottom edge of the object, Cursor 336 will not appear inthe center of Indicator 338.

FIG. 3C shows an example of this situation. Cursor 336 is positioned atthe edge of Image 332. Indicator 338 is displayed as close to theposition of Cursor 336 as possible while remaining within the boundaryof the Image 332 object. In a preferred embodiment, Cursor 336 willchange appearance when it moves over the Image 332 object to provide avisual indication to the user that the cursor is in an active location.If the user moves Cursor 336 such that the cursor moves outside theboundaries of the Image 332 object, Indicator 338 will no longer bedisplayed.

By manipulating the mouse, the user can position Indicator 338 over adesired portion of Image 332. As indicated in FIGS. 3C and 3D, thedisplaying or positioning movements of Positioning Indicator 338 do notaffect Edit Area 310 until the user requests that the area of Document320 displayed in Edit Area 310 be changed. Location Indicator 334continues to be displayed at the location corresponding to the sectionof Document 320 displayed in Edit Area 310, in this case text 322.

In addition to the Indicator 334 positioning calculations discussedabove, when the mouse cursor is positioned over Image 332, additionalsteps as shown in FIG. 5 are performed. In step 502, the left and topoffsets of Indicator 338 are calculated. Because Indicator 338represents a potential new location for Indicator 334, Indicator 338will have the same height and width as Indicator 334. Therefore, nospecial height and width calculations for Indicator 338 are required.Using the horizontal and vertical position X and Y of Cursor 336obtained from the browser, the new horizontal offset L2 and the newvertical offset T2 of Indicator 334 can be determined by subtractingone-half of the width and one-half of the height of the indicator. Asshown in FIG. 3C, if Cursor 336 is positioned close to an edge of Image332, this calculation will yield a value for L2 and T2 that cannot bedisplayed without violating the constraint that no part of Indicator 338may extend beyond the boundaries of the active Image 332 area. In thissituation, the browser will place Indicator 338 within Image 332 asclose to the requested offset as possible without violating the otherconstraint. In the example shown in FIG. 3C, Indicator 338 has beencentered vertically on the Cursor 336 position, but is displacedhorizontally such that the indicator remains within the Image 332 objectarea.

The occurrence of a user command to navigate in Document 320 to the newlocation indicated by Indicator 338 is checked at step 506. In thedisclosed embodiment, the mouseUp event while the mouse cursor is overthe Image 322 object is used as the triggering event. At step 508, inresponse to the user command, the new offsets L2 and T2 that werecalculated at step 502 are used to calculate new horizontal and verticalscroll positions for Document 320, The new value of scrollLeftcorresponding to the new location selected by the user is calculated bydividing the value of horizontal offset L2 by width MIW and multiplyingthe result by offsetWidth multiplied by style.zoom plus the scroll barwidth SB. Expressed as a formula,scrollLeft=(L2/MIW)*((offsetWidth*style.zoom)+SB). The value ofscrollTop is similarly calculated asscrollTop=(T2/MIH)*((offsetHeight*style.zoom+SB). At step 510, thesevalues are supplied to the browser to cause the requested section ofDocument 320 to be displayed in Edit Area 310. At step 512, LocationIndicator 334 is displayed at the location of Positional Indicator 338.At this point, the two indicators are in the same location. In apreferred embodiment, the z-indices of the two indicators are set suchthat Indicator 334 is placed above Indicator 338.

As long as the mouse cursor remains within the Image 332 object, bothindicators will remain visible. When the user has moved the cursor awayfrom Image 332, the situation will be as depicted in FIG. 3E. At thispoint, the portion of Document 320 displayed in Edit Area 310 has beenmodified to display the portion of Document 320 containing text 324 andIndicator 334 is now positioned where Indicator 338 was displayed at thetime the user requested navigation.

As mentioned above, updated Edit Area information is requested from thebrowser and the indicator parameters are recalculated three times persecond while the user is viewing Display 300. Any zooming or scrollingoperations performed by the user with Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons 352and 354 or Scroll Bars 360 and 370 will, therefore, be quickly detectedand appropriate adjustments to the displayed location of Indicator 334will be made accordingly.

While the invention has been shown and described in one exemplaryembodiment, the described embodiment is to be considered as illustrativerather than restrictive. The scope of the invention, therefore, is asindicated in the following claims and all equivalent methods andapparatus.

1. A system for at least displaying an electronic document to a user ofa computer system, the electronic document comprising an electronicrepresentation of a document to be printed, the system comprising afirst display area having a portion of the electronic document displayedtherein, and a second display area, displayed simultaneously with thefirst display area, having simultaneously displayed therein arepresentation of the outline of the printed product to be produced fromthe electronic document, a first indicator indicating the size andlocation in the printed product of the electronic document portioncurrently displayed in the first display area, and a second indicatorpositionable by the user to indicate a different portion of the printedproduct.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic documentincludes a representation of the outline of the printed document.
 3. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein the second indicator is the same size and thefirst indicator.
 4. The system of claim 1 wherein the second indicatoris displayed only if the user has positioned a cursor in the seconddisplay area.
 5. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and secondindicators are displayed in a manner such that the user can distinguishthe first indicator from the second indicator.
 6. The system of claim 1wherein the printed product is intended to be folded after printing andwherein representation displayed in the second display area includesindications of where the printed product will be folded.
 7. In acomputer system for editing an electronic document intended to besubsequently printed to produce a printed product, an edit locationmethod comprising simultaneously providing an edit area in which a userof the system can view and edit the electronic document and a secondarea, displaying in the edit area a portion of the electronic document,the electronic document including a representation of the outline of theprinted product, simultaneously displaying in the second area arepresentation of the outline of the printed product, and an indicatorindicating the size and location in the printed product of theelectronic document portion currently displayed in the edit area.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 further comprising responding to zooming and scrollingcommands from the user to control the portion of the electronic documentdisplayed in the edit area.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the printedproduct is intended to be folded after printing and wherein therepresentation includes indications of where the printed product will befolded.
 10. A system for indicating the current edit location to a userof a computer system engaged in editing an electronic document intendedto be printed to produce a printed product, the system comprising afirst display area having a portion of the electronic document displayedtherein for editing, the document including a representation of theoutline of the printed product, and a second display area, displayedsimultaneously with the first display area, having simultaneouslydisplayed therein a representation of the outline of the printed productand a location indicator indicating the size and location in the printedproduct of the electronic document portion currently displayed forediting in the first display area.
 11. A computer program stored in acomputer-readable memory for indicating the current edit location to auser of a computer system engaged in editing an electronic documentintended to be printed to produce a printed product, the programcomprising computer code for providing a first display area having aportion of the electronic document displayed therein for editing, thedocument including a representation of the outline of the printedproduct, and computer code for providing a second display area,displayed simultaneously with the first display area, havingsimultaneously displayed therein a representation of the outline of theprinted product and a location indicator indicating the size andlocation in the printed product of the electronic document portioncurrently displayed for editing in the first display area.
 12. Thecomputer program of claim 11 further comprising computer code forzooming and scrolling such that the user can modify the portion of theelectronic document displayed in the first area.
 13. The computerprogram of claim 11 further comprising computer code for recalculatingthe position of the indicator and updating the display of the indicatora plurality of times per second.
 14. The computer program of claim 11wherein the program executes in a browser program in the computersystem.
 15. The program of claim 11 further comprising program code torepetitively obtain information from the browser program regarding theportion of the electronic document displayed in the first area andcomputer code to recalculate the position of the indicator using theobtained information.